Dendrochilum propinquum

Description

Dendrochilum propinquum, the “closely related Dendrochilum” (whatever that really means), is a small to medium-sized species native to the Philippines.  The fast-growing, grassy foliage gives rise to an explosion of floriferous racemes of pearl to light coral-pink flowers in late winter to spring.

As I noted in the genus description, dendrochilums are quite easy to grow.  You can grow them in any medium, but you want to choose something that won’t dry out completely based on your watering preferences.  My friend sits his in water during the heat of the summer, and they love it.

I shoot for moderate light, but Dendrochilum propinquum is quite forgiving–I always try to err on the side of lower light than typically deemed necessary.  Temperature-wise, you can go down to 50 and up to the mid-90’s.  My plants usually double in size each year, so you’ll go have a very nice specimen-sized plant in no time.